You Just Got Engaged! Now What? – Vol. 2

Hello! Happy Thursday, loves! Last week we share with you the Vol. 1 of our series “You Just Got Engaged! Now What?“, a practical guide to start your wedding planning. In there you found tips to take care of your engagement ring, setting the date, wedding budget and where to find inspiration. And today we are bringing you Vol. 2. This piece of advice is filled super useful tips to take your dream wedding from vision to reality…. It’s all about location, location, location…! Read on and take your big day to the next level! UPDATE: Vol. 3 is now live.

Pick a Location

With the style of your wedding defined, envision your perfect venue. Close your eyes and picture your fantasy set-up. What do you see? Are you walking barefoot on a beach? Perhaps you want something classic and envision a ballroom filled with roses? Or maybe you seek a rustic vibe and want to tie-the-knot in a local barn? Ask yourself some of these key questions: Home or away (destination wedding)? Outdoors or indoors? Big or intimate? Once you’ve made your decisions, we can get down to specifics.

Set the Guest List and Book a Venue

When building your guest list, consider the fact that most venues have a limit of how many people they can accommodate. Find a few places that meet your vision we talked about earlier and ask about capacity. You do not want a soiree that looks half empty, but at the same time you want to leave enough room for your guest to move around comfortably and dance the night away. If your parents are fronting a major part of the bill, they may have a few additions to your guest list. Some you may not even know. Ask them for their guest list now and don’t let them procrastinate!

Take into account that more guests means higher prices, as catering and cake costs are generally calculated on a per-head basis. More people means more tables, and more tables means more flowers, linens, china, etc. It’s a good thing we came up with that budget earlier on, am I right?!

Now that you know more or less how many people you will be inviting, reserve your venue! Ensure that you get the look you envisioned, with the price you budgeted for by shopping around, scheduling visits and booking early. Once you have your venue set, you will officially have a wedding date! Congrats!

Defining the Details

Give yourself permission to let your brain turn into its own wedding channel. If you are anything like me, you have been planning your wedding since you were five years old and you know exactly what you want. But, if you haven’t, that’s OK; now is the perfect time to collect ideas that inspire you and define what you want—and don’t want—for your special day.

Defining the small details such as your color palette, invitations and bouquet could be time consuming and sometimes challenging. Don’t let that get the best of you! Have fun and keep your eyes open for inspiration! Something as unlikely as a family heirloom, a wallpaper pattern, or a favorite song can spark your creativity. I recommend incorporating elements that reflect your story as a couple and who you are as individuals. Don’t be afraid to do things differently! There is no other couple like the two of you!

Create a Wedding Website and App

Setting up a wedding site to keep everyone informed about your nuptial news is a lifesaver for brides! Can you imagine a time when the only way we could get the answers to our questions was by calling? Our phones wouldn’t stop ringing! People appreciate feeling like they’re in the loop and they like all that mushy detail! Post photos, write your “how we met” story, and make sure it matches your wedding theme and colors. Have fun putting it together and make it as personal and interactive as you want.